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Show 260 DF.Sl'OTISi\t of the United States jn the case o~ Prlgg v. Penn~ S,IJlvanial) ncvertheles:_;~, tl~e act of 18D0 appear~. to be g rossly unconstitutional m not less than three unpor· t.ant particulars. . 1 It confers jurisdiction concurrent With that of the ·judges of the Supreme and Cir?u~t Courts of the Uni ted States upon a set of rcom.m•s.sJO n er~ , mere appointees of the Circuit and r err.Jtonal Umted States Judges; holding office at th~ w11l of those '~ho appoint t.hcm; paid by flu ~tuatm g and_ un?ert.am fees, am] in fu(Yitive case:::;, bnbed to dcc1de Ill favor of the 1claima~1t by a double fee "in case they do so; uncommissioned by the president, and unsworn-when the constitu tion of the United States expressly requires that all judges, wh~ther of the Supreme or inferior courts shall hold ofhcc dunng good bchavwr, and shall, at stated times., receive fo.r t!le.ir servi ce~ a com pensation which shall not be dimm.Ishcd durmg their continuance in office; shall be nominated by the president and confirmed by the senate .i shall be sworn to support the constitution of the Umted States, and shall be commission ed by the prcs1den.t. . 2. It deprives the alleged fug1llve of the r~ ght of tri al by jury. . . 3. It substantially demes the wnt of habeas corpus by its prohibition to all courts, State or Federal, to inquire under that writ, or a.ny other, into the grounds of the commissioner's certificate, or to correct any errors of fact or law into which he may have fallen. Although Mr. Webster, in his 7th of March speech, annou nced his intention to support the bill then on the table of the senate and which subscq~cntly became the act of 1850, "\vith all its provn;wns,. t~ it s fullest extent," "with some amendrr~ents ton~·~) (which, however, he found no opportumty ~o o - yet he carefully avoided on that oc?aswn th~ sli crhlest allusion to 1ts odious a nd questiOnable de tails. Instead of that he substituted "a solemn ~h" peal to a ll the ::;obcr and sound minds at the ~or ' as a question of morals and a quest ion of conscience, IN Ai\TEIUCA. 261 what right the~ had in their lcgi!:5lative capacity, or a1~y o.ther capactty, to endeavor to get round the constitutiOn, or to embarrass i hc free exercise of the ricrhts secured by the constitution to the persons whose sl~vcs escape from them." A perilous appeal, in the making of which t he orator seems to have forgotten that sober and sound minds, honest citizens with no political expectations or hopes of mercantile profit to warp their better judgments, might be a pt, at the same time, to ask themselves, as a question of morals and a question of conscience, and \vith even stronger emphasis too, what right they had in their ]egislat.ive capacity, or in any other capacity, to open a c.loor to kidknapping, or to put to the slightest risk or danger the personal liberty of a single fellow-citizen, however humble his pos it ion, empty his purse, or dark his complexion. Such persons, so appealed to, might be apt to call to rniud the adjudication of "another Daniel come to judgment," a case quite as generally known and approved as any recorded in the law books. Portia. A pound of that same merchant's flesh is thine ; The court awards it, and the law doth give it. Sh.1Jlock. Most rightful judge! Portia. And you must cut this flesh from off his breast; The law allows it, and the court awards it. Shylock. Most learned judge !- A sentence : Come. Prepare. Portia. Tarry a. little :-there is something else. This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood; 'l'he words expressly o.rc, a pound of flesh. 'fake then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh i But in the cutting it, if thou dost sheJ One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goolls ~~~~ ~het~~~~w:r% e~fc"~~e, confiscate ~£;l~~k.o.1sotl~~tr~~~t ~~~~e !-Mark, Jew. 0 learnell judge! Portia. Thyself shall see the act ; For ns thou urgest justice, be assured 'l'hou shRlt have justice more than thou dcsir'st- Though Mr. Webster, in his 7th of March speech, -perhaps on the principle that it is hard to touch |
